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Mind Your Manners: Online Auction Etiquette

Online auctions require a high level of trust between buyers and sellers. As a result, reputable auction sites enforce strict rules and invest a great deal of time and effort to avoid illegal or fraudulent

behavior. In addition, most regular buyers and sellers adhere to both written and unwritten rules, and experienced auction members will avoid people who repeatedly break them.

Shill Game
One of the most serious auction offenses is called shilling, where a member assumes a false identity or uses a third party to inflate the selling price. Fraudulently inflating a member rating at an auction site also qualifies as shilling. In addition to being grounds for immediate expulsion from most auction sites, shilling is a form of fraud and is considered a criminal offense.

It is also illegal to post false or misleading product descriptions or pictures. This includes selling used or reconditioned items as new; making false claims about a product's specifications; or switching brand-name items with off-market substitutes.

Introducing Lee Odden, AllBusiness.com's Internet marketing advisor
For more than 10 years, Lee Odden has worked with large and small companies to improve their Internet marketing.